Our Expat Daddy makes the best barbeque ever!!!!! May it be lambchops like these or pork or chicken. The best! Unfortunately, the recipe I haven't learned yet. I don't want to know really. I'm happy enough to just be eating than cooking.

It's been weeks and I still couldn't think of what I really want to eat. I've been looking for inspirations from severel recipe blogs to try and get inspiration on what to cook at home. Sad... so sad that till now I have not found that inspiration. Even that crispy pata we had two weekends back did not really appeal to me. Yesterday was slightly an exception when I thought of preparing steamed Lapu-Lapu inspired by a post I saw from Market Manila. I didn't really use the recipe right to the dot but somehow being a cook myself I kinda got the drift on where the recipe is headed so I just made my own. One thing I was hoping to do just like in Market Manila's recipe is to charcoal steam the fish. I think that's just brilliant. Well having the fish kinda steamed and kinda grilled that's awesome! LOL!

And of course cooking it over charcoal would probably give it a distinct flavor rather than just steaming the fish. So anyway, I just read through the recipe as I've said and then made notes in my mind on what I'd like to take from the recipe. So the one I made is kinda similar but different. Any how, we all enjoyed our dinner last night so big big thanks for the recipe.

Healthy and Yummy!!!

For this dish we used two small red hamour or lapu-lapu about half a kilo each. Since our Big Ate decided she's having Shin Ram Yun for dinner and I also snacked on Shin Ram Yun when I arrived home, I thought two small fishes would be enough.

3. When the onion is soft and translucent, the tomato. Saute until tomato is soft and is starting to disintegrate.

4. Add the coriander and saute for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Set aside.

I agree sauteing the veggies first makes a difference in the overall taste of the fish.

5. Brush the foil sheet with a thin layer of oil. Lay out the fish over a foil sheet and fill its cavity with the cooked vegetables. You may also put some more vegetables over the fish. Wrap and seal the fish.

6. Put in a pre-heated steamer with boiling water and steam for about 30-45 minutes.

7. Turn off the heat. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes then unwrap. Serve with hot steamed or fried rice. Enjoy!

Mommy Tip 2: A dipping sauce of chili oil is a perfect accompaniment to the dish. Yummmmyy!!!

If you live in the Middle East like we do, you understand the need to be creative in the kitchen. The line "chicken or beef" as said by the cabin crew on your flight to and from any country in the Middle East is a very good indication of what you can expect here. Yes, it's mostly chicken or beef and if you've been living here for quite sometime, a decade and a half perhaps, well... it's understandable that you kinda grow tired of it sometimes.

This is not to say though that we don't have vegetable and seafood options (although seafood are quite expensive, I must say). But yeah... you get the picture. It's chicken or beef maybe five days a week so you really have to find ways to make it extra special specially if you have kids to feed.

If there's one chicken recipe that I really really want to try out is that Soy Chicken I've seen in the Food Network. I actually don't know why I haven't tried it yet till now, but it looked so delicious and very easy to make. Last night I decided to give it a try, half way. Half way I said because I did not get to the part where the chicken was air dried and then deep fried. I'll do that part next time, when I've got a bit more time. In the mean time, let's have this version of half way through Soy Chicken. :)

Well, if the amount of dinner our Small Ate ate is any indication, I would say it really is so good. Usually when we prepare any chicken dish, the breasts were almost always left over. But this time, I even had to save a portion for our Little Oyen, or else there would be nothing left for her. And to think it was a 1.3kg chicken I cooked instead of our usual 1kg.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1 cup soy sauce

2 tbs hoisin sauce

1 tb Knorr seasoning

2 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

3-4 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

salt (to taste)

pepper

garlic powder (or minced garlic)

ginger powder (or minced ginger)

dried rosemary

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Spring onions, chopped

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a pan and bring to a boil on high heat.

2. When the sauce is boiling, lower the heat to medium and add the whole chicken. Simmer for 30-45 minutes.

3. Flip the chicken over and cook the other side. This should also balance the brown color of the skin. Cook for another 30-45 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and let it cool. Once the sauce has cooled down, remove the chicken,set aside to cool down further.

5. Turn the heat again to medium and cook the remaining sauce until it thickens to desired consistency then turn off the heat.

6. Chop the chicken and transfer to a serving dish. Pour over the sauce. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions.

7. Serve with steaming hot rice. Enjoy.

Mommy Tip 1: I've also served the remaining sauce on the side in case people would want to mix it with their rice, which my kids did!